New dog ordinance on tap for Ithaca

Plagued this summer by a “couple of spots in town that are out of control,” City Manager Chelsey Foster said the council members are now reviewing the final draft of a new ordinance.

The city is not the type to “over regulate things” but the complaints were coming in about residences that had five or six dogs in the yards and no fences. Children weren’t allowed outside to play in their own neighborhood because of the dogs.

The new ordinance will not allow dogs to run free, he said.

“And we added a vicious dog section,” he said. “It’s much stricter.”

Even dogs that are chained and straining or trying to break their chain will not be allowed, he said. The dogs will have to be penned and not be allowed to be tied to a post or a tree.

The city will also limit the number of dogs allowed by one homeowner. However, that number hasn’t been determined yet.

The ordinance does not identify any certain breeds of dogs but is only concerned with dangerous dogs, whatever the breed, he said.

After the city council reviews the ordinance, a public hearing is expected to be held sometime in February.

Linda Gittleman can be reached at lgittleman@michigannewspapers.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/gittleman.